BARCELONA • The number of cities around the world reporting on their efforts to tackle global warming has risen 70 per cent to 533 since the adoption of the Paris climate change agreement last year, the group collecting the data said.

The cities - which provide annual information on their planet-warming emissions, the climate hazards they face, renewable energy targets, risks to their water supply and other environmental aspects - now represent 621 million citizens globally, CDP said yesterday.

CDP, a British-based non-profit, said more cities are doing an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions to manage their climate impact. Today, four in 10 cities are measuring their emissions, compared with one in 10 in 2011, when CDP launched a programme to help them reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.

"When cities measure their climate footprint and seek a sustainable path to green growth powered by clean energy, they take us all further towards the global transition to low emissions and resilient development," said United Nations climate change secretariat head Patricia Espinosa.

CDP highlighted a nearly fourfold increase since last year in the number of African cities disclosing climate information, to 46 from 12.

Latin America saw a 66 per cent increase in cities disclosing, with 136 sharing data. The Asia-Pacific has seen a rise of nearly a third since last year. Europe has seen an 83 per cent rise, to 126 across 32 countries. In North America, there has been a 72 per cent rise to 131 cities.

REUTERS